By Your Side
by SilentJo
Summary: Momo had been hoping that the feelings she had for Todoroki were mutual. If this was their first step at realizing that, then she'd stay with him for as long as he wanted.


This isn't how they expected the first patrol of their joint internship mission to go. Todoroki Shoto and Momo Yaoyorozu were backed into a corner by the villain they'd been pursuing, Swell. His expansion quirk had made it difficult to pin him down, and the destruction he caused as he enlarged himself created a deep trench that had cut them off from their team.

"Yaoyorozu, can you create some durable netting? Something that shrinks when heated, like what we used against Aizawa during our final exam. If we can get that around him and hit it with my fire, we can immobilize this guy."

Momo nodded, "Yeah, it'll take me a little while to create something large enough to cover him completely though!"

"Get started, I'll hold him off until you're done!" Todoroki yelled as he drew the villain's attention away from his classmate. "That's an impressive long-range ability, let's see how well you do when your opponent is in your face!" Todoroki charged towards Swell, who raised his forearms in anticipation of his attack. Expanding the skin on his arms, he created a shield that deflected Todoroki's punches.

"Haha, did you really think that I'd only be useful for fighting at a distance? You kids should get back to your classroom before I really get angry!" Swell swung one of his enlarged limbs out at Todoroki, who dodged it narrowly. He looked back to Yaoyorozu, who was busy concentrating on the net that was steadily falling out from the front of her outfit. Momentarily distracted by how exposed she looked, he was hit by Swell's other arm, knocking him back against a nearby building.

 _Shit! I can't believe I let that happen._ Todoroki shook his head and slowly rose to his feet. Touching his hand to his forehead, he felt blood against his fingers. Wiping it away with his sleeve, he saw that the villain had started to approach Yaoyorozu, who was still working on finishing their best way of capturing Swell.

"Shame your partner wasn't strong enough to protect such a helpless thing like you, girlie. What do you plan to do with that silly net, reel me in for today's catch of the day?! Not gonna happen, sweetheart!" Swell extended his arm, expanding it outwards and forming a sharp point, then swung with his full force towards the back of the girl before him.

"No!" yelled Todoroki as he barreled forward, putting himself between the villain's deadly attack and Yaoyorozu. He coated his right arm in a sheath of ice to deflect some of the blow, but Swell still managed to make contact, slashing him partially against his chest.

"Todoroki!" Momo shouted as she looked back to see the boy take the hit that was meant for her.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me, but you have to finish that net!"

Distracted from his wound by the sudden rush of adrenaline, he straightened himself up and took a defensive posture before Yaoyorozu. Stomping his right foot, he let loose a barrage of ice that made Swell retreat a few steps before expanding his arms to block their advance. He continued sending walls of ice at him as the villain continued to dodge them.

"Okay, it's ready!" Momo said as she stood up and turned around. Seeing the villain surrounded by ice, she knew what Todoroki had planned. "Should I throw it now?"

"Yeah, I'm ready!"

Momo flung the massive netting towards Swell, who had seen it coming, but after realizing that Todoroki had been slowly trapping him against an ice wall, had nowhere to go as the net draped over him.

"Hah! You really think this little trick is going to work?" Swell started to expand himself but noticed that it was moving slower than usual. Seeing the confusion on the villain's face, Todoroki spoke up.

"Didn't you pay attention in science class? Cold slows down expansion, and right now you're surrounded by freezing cold ice. What did you expect to happen? But don't worry, you'll warm up soon!" Todoroki raised his left arm, steam rising from his skin until the flames were visible. With a flash, he sent out a wave of fire at Swell. The sudden change in temperature created a haze all around them as the ice quickly melted. Just as quickly, the material of the netting shrunk, constricting Swell and preventing him from moving at all.

"We did it! No, Todoroki!" Momo shouted as the boy collapsed. She had been so distracted by making the net that she hadn't seen everything that had happened between Todoroki and the villain. As she saw the large slash across his chest, she started to cry. "Why did you do this? You didn't have to put yourself in harm's way for my sake!"

"It would have... been sad if this happened to you," Todoroki said with a pained expression. "The guilt of not protecting you would have been more painful than this is right now."

"That... You didn't have to; did you think about how it hurts me to see you in this state?" Her heart was aching now, hearing how he felt confirmed her suspicions that there had been some feelings they had toward each other.

"I'm sorry, it wasn't my intention to do so."

"I should do what I can before backup gets here. Hold on and I'll create some first aid supplies."

"There are some supplies in the containers on my belt. Thank you, Yaoyorozu. Having you here... It's comforting." His brow wrinkled as pain shot through his body again.

Momo blushed as she quickly got to work tending to his wounds. The cuts on his face were the easiest to manage, while the large gash on his chest was tougher to handle. She tore away at his uniform to get it out of her way. Seeing him exposed in front of her like this in any other situation would have been embarrassing, but right now she had to remain focused and treat his injuries as best she could.

 _He's so warm, and his skin is softer than I had imagined it to be,_ she noted as she cleansed his wound and quickly bandaged it. Once she was done, he lifted himself into a seated position and leaned against some nearby rubble.

"Are you sure it's safe for you to be sitting up like that? Maybe you should lie down while we wait for the others."

"The sky isn't what I want to look at right now," he responded breathlessly as he gazed at her.

"Then I should go get help, or at least send a signal of where we are!" She was unnerved by the way he looked at her, with such soft eyes. She felt a sudden urge to run, but as she stood up, his hand weakly grabbed hers.

"Don't go. Please… Don't leave me alone, Momo. I should have, I should have been more obvious. I've never been good at expressing how I feel, but right now, all I want is for you to stay by my side."

"Todoroki..." She had been hoping that the feelings she had for him were mutual. If this was their first step at realizing that, then she'd stay with him for as long as he wanted. She sat down beside him, still holding his hand, and leaned against him as they waited for their help to arrive.


End file.
